ALBUM REVIEW: Calexico – The Thread That Keeps Us

Lee Fisher reviews the latest release from the Arizona rock band

By Lee Fisher
on Monday, January 22nd, 2018

City Slang

Released: 26.01.18

It’s 20 years since I first heard Calexico‘s unique and thrilling blend of mariachi, Morricone, jazz and country and for a while they were perfect. But by the mid-noughties the wagon wheels were already coming off as their uniqueness was smothered by ever more disappointing MOR leanings.

So it is with The Thread That Keeps Us. There are some great songs here: Flores Y Tamales is wonderful and could have found a place on The Black Light; Unconditional Waltz is an all too brief instrumental delight; Shortboard is like a Texican reworking of Red Right Hand. But most of the rest is either unremarkable or – in the case of cod-reggae monstrosity Under The Wheels – fucking awful. Maybe next time.